Disability living allowance overpayment hits £730 million

The government overpaid £730 million in disability living
allowance from April 2004 to March 2005, according to the
Department for Work and Pensions, writes Lindsay
Clark.

A department spokeswoman said it would be claiming some of the
money back, depending on individual circumstances. DLA was also
underpaid by £200 million.

The department said the majority of both under and overpayment
errors were not the result of fraud or department mistakes, but
because changes in claimants’ circumstances were not reported.

Anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt said, ”Fraud and official
error are relatively low in Disability Living Allowance (DLA). The
review confirms continuing problems where customer’s circumstances
change. In DLA there are some changes which people should report.
However, many of the changes will be gradual and occur over
time.

”We are already taking robust action to address this with plans to
improve customer awareness so people know when and how they should
report a change.

“We are also determined to improve our administration of the
benefit. We are driving forward initiatives to improve decision
making. These include an externally validated accreditation scheme
and access to shared, central resources for decision
makers.”